Lock nut



May 3, 1933.

Filed April 14, 1937 Stimm,

40 produce frictional engagement. betweenthe thin punch positioned in the threaded bore of the nut 0 crat'entevd May 3,1938 Y v2,116,036

" UNlrEDsTATi-:s PATENT OFFICE Loox NUT Beniamin Money, Tulsa, Okla., assigner of thirty one-hundredths to Charles R. Terry and thirty one-hundredths to Albert Cohan, both of Tulsaf Olxla. 4Application April 14, 1937, Serial No. 136.890

l 2 Claims. (Cl. 151-21) This invention -relates to certain new and usenovel form, combination and arrangement of ful improvements in lock nuts. parts hereinafter more fully described, shown in The primary object of the invention is to prothe accompanying drawing and claimed. vide a lock nut adapted for association with a Y In the drawingz t threaded bolt or the like wherein the threads of Figure 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a 5 the bolt are of standard construction, certain lock nut and thread cutting'die and illustrating threads of the nut being of standard constructhe milling fingers or cutters at the upper end tion for engagement with the bolt threads, while of the standard thread cutting zone of the'die other threads of the nut adjacent the top thereof for producing the thin threads of resilient blade- 1o are of different construction to produce frictional like formation at the upper end of the nut with 10 or binding engagement when said last named an upstanding annular shoulder on the top of,` threads of the nut move into engagement with the nut surrounding thethreaded bore; the threads of the bolt to hold `the nut against Figure 2 is a verticalsectional view of the lock rotation on the bolt. nut shown in Figure 1, with the thread cutting l5 A further object of the invention is to provide die removed; 15 a lock nut of the foregoing character wherein at Figure 3 is a side elevational view of the thread least one of the threads of the nut and preferably cutting die; i a plurality of threads adjacent the top `of the Figure 4 is 'an enlarged fragmentary sectional nut are deeply out Cormilled between the threads view of the nut showing the thin threads at the to provide a series of relatively thin threads of topv of the nut and the upstanding annular shoul- 2o blade-like formation with pressure exerted on the der that forms the upper `side of the top thin top of the nut to move at least the top thread of thread; blade-like formation in a direction toward the Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional bottom of the nut to place the uppermost thin view similar to Figure 4 with the upstanding anthread closer to the adjacent thin thread than nuiar shoulder swaged or pressed downwardly to 25 the spaced relationship between the other threads present a substantially level surface at the top for placing the uppermost thin thread out of of the nut and toflower at least the top thread true pitch with the other threads whereby fricinto vcloser relationship with the adjacent thin tional contact is established between the thin thread than the distance between other threads;

threads of the nut and the lower walls of the vFigur@ 5 iS a vertical CI'OSS SeCifiOrlal View 0f 80 threads of the bolt for holding the lock nut on the completed lock nut showing the uppermost the bolt against accidental rotation, wrench presthin thread at the top of the nut slightly flexed sure being lrequired for applying and removingI upwardly to increase frictionalfengagement be-v the nut after the thin threads of the nut have tween said threadand the standard thread of a been moved into engagement with the threads bolt shank that is fragmentarily illustrated as 35 of the bolt to restore the thin threads of the nut threaded in the nut; to true pitch with respect to the standard threads Figure 7 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a of the nut and bolt with the inherent resiliency of lock nut similar to Figure 2, but with the upthe thin threads permittingv iiexure thereof to standing annular shoulder omitted and with a threads of the nut and the standard threads of for depressing the top thin thread; and the bolt. Figure 8 is an enlarged-fragmentary sectional A further object of the invention is to provide view of the completed lock nut shown in Figure 'an improved construction of nut threading die to 'l and illustrating an annular depression surproduce a lock nut of the foregoing character rounding the threaded bore of the nut at the top wherein the die has a thread cutting section to thereof. l f produce standard threads in the nut with cut- Referring more in detail to the accompanying ting or milling fingers at the upper end of the drawing and particularly to Figures 1 to 6, the thread cutting section of the die for cutting or reference character Ill'designates a nut having a milling out the material between one or more threaded bore Ii for mounting on the threaded 50 threads at the upperl end of the nut to produce shank' i 2 of a bolt. The threaded bore Il of the the thin threads of blade-like formation. nut is divided into two zones of different thread With the above and other objects in view that characteristics, the threaded zone opening at the will become apparent as the nature of the inven' bottom i3 of the nut being of standard construetion is better understood, the same consists in the tion or normal pitch while the threaded zone 55 opening at the top Il of the nut which comprises at least one thread and preferably several threads is slightly out of pitch with the standard thread zone and embodies one or more threads of thin characteristics and of inherently resilient bladelike formation designated in general by the reference character I5.

The thread cutting die for `producing the two zones of different thread characteristics in the nut is shown in Figs. 1 and 3 and comprises a shank IB having the lower end thereof provided with spaced longitudinal sets of teeth I1 for cutting the standard threads II in the nut with a plurality of sprally arranged cutting or milling ngers I8 at the upper endv of the thread cutting finger I1 for producing the zone of thin threads of blade-like formation I5 shown in Figure 2, the thread cutting die being shown in Figure 1 as engaged with the nut I0.

-As shown more clearly in Figures 2 and 4, the

`top I4 of the nut I0 carries an upstanding annu- 'the top wan u of the nut, the milling cutters la providing undercut` bevelled edges 23 at the free edges of the thin blades 20.

Pressure is exerted on the top and bottom walls of the nut I0 shown inv Figures 2 and 4, as by passing the nut between .compressor rollers for moving the upstanding annular shoulder I 9 at the top of the nut downwardly into the body of the nut as shown in Figures 5 and 6 to cause the top thread 20a shown in Figure 5 to be moved into closer relationship with the adjacent thread 20h thereby narrowing the channel 2Ia between the thin threads* 20a and 20h with respect to the channels 2| between the other thin threads and slightly moving the uppermost thin thread 20a out of pitch with the thread 20h and the threads of thestandard zone II of the nut.

The completed nut as shown in Figure 6 may be initially threaded by hand onto the threaded bolt I2 until the thin thread zone I6 moves into engagement with the bolt threads and at which time hand wrench, or other power pressure is required to" thread the nut onto the bolt. The bevonto the bolt causes' the thin threads 20 land especially the uppermost thin thread 20a to be slightly flexed and restored to true pitch relal tive to theother threads and'thereby produce frictional engagement between the thin threads of the nut and the standard threads of the bolt for retaining the lock nut on the bolt against accidental rotation. The nut. is capable of being locked upon the bolt without the necessity of `moving the nut into engagement with an abutment of any character, the thin threads constituting the locking element, and as stated, requiring wrench pressure or other power for threading the nut onto and oil of the bolt. The resiliency of the thin blade-like threads 20 increases friction between the lock nut and bolt for the retention of the nut on the bolt against displacement.

In the form of invention shown in Figures '7 and 8, the nut I0a\has a standard thread zone IIa and a thin thread zone Illa at the top Ila. In this form of the invention, the top Ila of the nut IUa is free of the shoulder I9 shown in Figures l to 6 and normally has a fiat top. A punch 25 is inserted in the top of the nut Illa and percussive force exerted on the punch lowers at least the uppermost thin thread 20c to move the same slightly out of pitch with the remaining threads of the nut vand producing a comparatively shallow channel or depression Ilia surrounding the threaded bore of the nut. In all other respects, the nut Illa functions in a manner similar to the nut I0 shown in Figures 1 to 6.

While there are herein shown and described the preferred embodiments of the present invention, it is nevertheless to be understood that minor changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

1. In a lock nut of the character described, the combination with a threaded bolt, of a nut having threads to engage the threads of the bolt, a plurality of the threads of the nut adjacent the top of the nut .being deep cut and relatively thin in comparison to the remaining threads of the nut, the group of thin threads being slightly depressed to successively occupy positions out of true pitch with the other threads of the nut and the threads of the bolt whereby frictional contact is established between said thin threads of the nut and the lower walls of the threads of the bolt.

2. A nut lock of theA character set forth in claim 1, characterized by the thin threads hav-f crease the area of frictional contact ofthe thin threads with the lower Walls of the threads of the bolt.

BENJAMIN F. MONEY. 

